Totila's defeat of a larger Byzantine force at Faventia in 542 marked the start of a Gothic resurgence in the Italian reconquest war.
Key Facts
- Gothic force size
- ~5,000 men
- Byzantine force size
- ~12,000 troops
- Gothic flanking detachment
- 300 men sent to attack Byzantine rear
- Gothic king
- Totila (new king of the Ostrogoths)
- Single combat champion slain
- Valaris (Goth), killed by Artabazes the Armenian
- Conflict phase
- Second phase of the Gothic War (535–554)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following a failed Byzantine siege of Verona, the retreating Byzantine army of roughly 12,000 men was pursued by the newly crowned Ostrogothic king Totila with approximately 5,000 troops. Totila seized the initiative, sending a detachment of 300 men on a flanking route to strike the Byzantine rear while the main Gothic force prepared to engage.
In spring 542, near Faventia (modern Faenza), Totila's smaller Gothic army crossed the river Po and engaged the larger Byzantine force commanded by generals Constantinianus and Alexander. A Gothic champion, Valaris, challenged the Byzantines to single combat to delay the battle; he was slain by Artabazes the Armenian, who was himself mortally wounded. When the Gothic flanking force struck the Byzantine rear, panic spread through Byzantine ranks and they broke formation and fled.
The Gothic victory at Faventia proved decisive for the course of the Gothic War. It reversed Byzantine momentum, reinforced Ostrogothic resistance, and signaled the beginning of a broad Gothic resurgence that would prolong the conflict over Italy for more than a decade, complicating the Byzantine attempt to reconquer the Italian Peninsula.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Totila.
Side B
1 belligerent
Constantinianus, Alexander, Artabazes the Armenian.